Chapter Six: Unveiling

News of the destroyed TA vessel spread like wild fire throughout the nations of the world. Even though the event had taken place 3 days ago details of what truly had occurred were blurred forcing people to rely on distorted voice recordings and static filled video footage recovered from a nearby TA satellite. The Adament was a famed TA flagship that was on their way to the newly constructed Washington space station orbiting just in between the Earth and its Moon. They were in the process of delivering a squadron of high scoring recruits along with the fabled Lt. Ronald Shultz. A travesty such as this one was not easily forgiven and instantly fingers pointed towards the EAP for blame.

Washington was on the eve of its completion and already it was bulging with military personnel and officers. Earlier in the day the station that was expected to become the nexus of TA military intelligence received 100 new MF pilots, most wondered why new pilots would be transferred, what made it even more suspicious was the fact that each and every pilot that had arrived was marked as Elite and were not ranked any lower than Lieutenant Commander. The brass of the military was preparing for a mission, one that would be shrouded in the darkness of space. Rumors continued to flutter around the corridors that it was to be a retaliation mission, which 100 MFs were to be sent to what was known as “Manus Diabolus” or “Hand of the Devil” as it was loosely translated. Thousands of ships and MFs, TA and EAP alike remained in ruins singed from previous chaotic battles that took place in that region. Only a fool would travel there purposefully.

A young soldier, just recently brought into the TA ran exhaustingly through the dull pallid corridors, wires hung down from the hole filled ceiling; the station wasn’t expected to be fully completed for another month. His vibrant glowing blonde hair remained rigid as he ran maneuvering around the scrap pieces of metal and beige cardboard boxes that lined the floor. His eyes widened as he turned the corner, light emanated from a single room; that was his destination and from the looks of it he was already late.

“You’re late Ensign.”

“I’ m sorry sir….here are the reports you requested.” His voice trembling, it was the first time he was ever in trusted with an assignment away from his desk.

“Thank you, now take your seat.”

“Yes Sir General Iovino!”

The teal pupils slid down staring at the pages of documents grasped in his hands. The documents reported on the mysterious disappearance of the Adament of her crew. For all he knew the EAP was truly behind the incident, but still something in the pit of his stomach stirred telling him other wise. There was an eerie essence around the tragedy of the Adament, something that he was going to be sure to uncover.
The lights slowly dimmed in the room leaving the pilots shrouded in the darkness with only a display screen to illuminate the room. The gangly General sighed as he placed the documents onto a nearby table replacing it with an obsidian laser pointer for easy presentational skills.

“I won’t beat around the bush men, I’m sure you’ve all heard the rumors about the Adament. Your next mission will be to advance to Manus Diabolus and search for any evidence as to what had really occurred there days ago.  And if you should encounter any enemy MFs or ships take them out. The loss of the Adament is not one we will take lightly.”

Each soldier simply nodded, it was safe to say that every soldier in the room despised the EAP and only needed an excuse to take out any representative of the nation they hated so much. As the lights slowly illuminated each soldier shot out with their arms flared in the air.

*****

            “Did you hear about the TA?” Nathan shrugged his shoulders as one of his young students slowly tugged on the outer brim of his EAP sleeve.

“Huh? No….” Nathan humbly replied, his voice dull echoing of his depression.

“One of their ships disappeared out in Manus Diabolus. One of their high ranking ships to be exact. Right now Washington is scrambling in confusion; this would be an excellent time to stage an attack on the TA.”

A smirk couldn’t help riding up in between his cheeks, the determination and energy of youth was something to be admired and laughed at simultaneously.

“We have no idea what happened, jumping straight into battle with incomplete information wouldn’t be ideal. Although I am curious about what had happened and I’m sure the higher ups are too. I wouldn’t be too surprised for them to organize a recon team to check out Manus Diabolus. Don’t worry….I’m sure you’ll get a chance to see some action soon enough.” Nathan replied.

“I’m not worried about action Lieutenant Commander….I’ll be getting enough of that once I’m sent to Mosin Grand. I’ve heard the assault there has lighten up a bit due to this new situation with Manus Diabolus. But I’m still set to be transferred there within the week….. I just want this to end.”

“Yeah….we all want this to end….” Nathan mumbled.

Dammerung had become understaffed since most of the soldiers were being transferred to Mosin Grand and Mars facilities in order to battle both the TA and the uprising that Red Fury was bringing about. The screens on every display lit up as the leader of the EAP, Laine Priam took the stage. She had taken the leadership from her father the late Victor Priam after he was slain in Berlin. At 28 she was the youngest female politician in power to date, her combination of beauty, elegance and intelligence made her a force to be dealt with. Her hazel eyes glistened from the light emanating off the cameras surrounding her podium. Strands of her raven black hair slowly waved from side to side in a pony tail, her pale skin was reminiscent of a medieval beauty, this personification of radiance made every soldier gawk forgetting that she was their leader.

It wasn’t hard to forget that this beauty was the strong foundation that the EAP rested on for the past year, not many leaders are that attractive. Both Nathan and his academy student quickly turned their attention to her; it was very rare that she would appear on broadcast.

“*Ahem*…  First I would like to thank you all for your hard work this past year. Even with the loss of Berlin we have managed to keep both the TA and this Red Fury at bay. We have all struggled through life; dealing with what we believe to be unbearable loses and yet we all remain strong. My father promised you all that the war would end, and I will, just like him promise you all that I will make sure this war ends. It is true that the bloodshed has gone on for way too long, we will not stand idly by while the Trinity Alliance swings their power around irresponsibly nor will we stand by while this Red Fury continues to make things chaotic on Mars. Mars was supposed to be humanity’s paradise, a place for rebirth, if we continue to allow this small group of terrorists to have their way then nothing will ripen for humanity. Today I will announce to you all, the solution to drawing the conclusion to this war. As of 0700 hours this morning Prometheus, a new space station and scientific research center was launched from our secret base on the other side of the moon, Raiden in orbit. Prometheus is coated with a Transparent Emitter Shield which makes it invisible to the naked eye and undetectable from radar. Head scientist Masamune Hirashi is currently developing the key that will end this war for good. Rejoice for this is the beginning of the end for the TA…..” Nathan shrugged his shoulders tossing the remote to the floor. The plastic controller tumbled along the tiled floor as the batteries burst out from their small compartment.

The few academy soldiers that were in the room all stared at their teacher wide eyed and confused. They wanted to jump around, allow their energy and adrenaline to flow out after all they were just presented with the means that would end the war.

“Are you ok Lieutenant Commander?” One of the students managed to spurt after he found the courage to talk.

“Yeah…I’m fine. But creating another weapon will not bring peace.” Nathan mumbled under his breath as he slowly walked to the automatic door on the other side of the classroom.

As the chrome door slid open Nathan caught another solider leaning against the pallid wall through his peripheral vision.

“What do you want? I thought you left for Mosin Grand?”

“Hah, I’d thought you’d be happy that I didn’t leave yet. After all Nathan we have a lot to catch up on.”

“I’m sorry Hayate, now’s not the time.”

“So I take it you heard the President’s speech then?”

“Yeah….”

“You’re upset about Prometheus even though you have no idea what it is.”

“It’s another weapon Hayate, you’d think they’d learn after Berlin that another weapon won’t bring about peace.”

“*sigh* You’re still naïve Nathan, no one said anything about peace. They’re just trying to end the war. If peace comes from the war’s end then great, if it doesn’t then too bad. You need to stop deluding yourself with ideas that humans can create peace. It’s impossible; we’ve sinned way too much to achieve peace Nathan.”

“Why are you here Hayate?”

“I was sent to retrieve you….by the council.”

“Me? Ha, I thought I was too mentally unstable to pilot an MF.”

“You are, but that’s not what they want from you.”

“Huh? Then what do they want from me?”

“You’re a mechanic remember? You’ve become known for your advanced knowledge in technology as well as knowing some aspects of genetics. It is because of these traits that you are to be brought to Prometheus.”

“Prometheus? Why the hell do they want someone like me on something like that? What the hell is really going on?!”

“Nathan… we’re developing a new type of MF, one that will bond with its pilot. We need you’re help. The Crimson Dawn project is just a bunch of blue prints, with your help it’ll become a reality.”

“The Crimson Dawn…..just what is the council thinking?”

“They’re thinking that we need to end this war Nathan, that’s what they’re thinking. Will you help us? Will you help us end this war?”

*****

“Commander! We’re approaching Manus Diabolus now!”

Commander Suez assigned to the recon ship, Libra. The singed pieces of metallic debris floated lifelessly through the space region. It truly was a graveyard of sorts, a surrealistic nightmare come to life.  It was difficult to make out their trajectory with all the random pieces of debris surrounding the area.

“Calm down Ensign….we’re just on a recon mission. We’re only here to find out what happened to the Adament.”

“But sir…..what if…..what if the ship that did this to the Adament is still around?”

“If whatever did this to the Adament is around we have orders to take them down.”

“SIR! We’re picking up a high heat signature on radar”

“How far?” The Commander screamed, the leather seat stationed in the middle of the bridge squeaked as it abruptly turned around on its hinge.

“One second…..100 kilometers sir and closing! It’s fast….incredibly fast!”

“Damn it….this was supposed to be a recon; I wasn’t truly expecting to have to engage in combat. Send out the MF battalions we have in the hanger!”

“Yes sir! Attention all MF pilots please prepare to launch. We have a single bogey approaching this ship, take it out!”

“Heh…it’s been a while since we saw some action.” One pilot mumbled as he strapped his seat belts into place.

“I hope you didn’t get rusty.” A feminine voice replied through the communications display.

“Trust me Mands, I never get rusy! Deacon Perez, Shade launching!” The silver hued Shade quickly launched as its cerulean flames flickered through the hanger.

“Idiot…Amanda Grey, Shade launching!”

Following their launch 3 other Shades made their way out into the debris filled space region.

“Deacon, Amanda, you two lead the assault. There is only one bogey so this shouldn’t pose a problem. Take it down, but try and keep the pilot alive.

We’ll need to bring him or her in for questioning.” Commander Suez replied.

Both pilots nodded as their Shades took the lead.

"What….what is that?” One of the Shade pilots announces as their target became visible. A blue and yellow MF continued to fly at tremendous speeds, two white wings like structures extended from the back of the lone MF. Deacon chuckled.

“One MF? Just one MF, ha, this should be dealt with in no time.” Deacon’s testosterone pumped through his veins, he was an impulsive pilot, not one to listen to orders that seemed boring to him.

“Deacon wait!” Amanda screamed reaching out as if she had intended to grab her impulsive partner.

“Chill out Mands, I’ll be fine. This’ll be over before….WHAT THE HELL?!” Deacon’s Shade forcefully swayed to the right narrowly avoiding the tip of the winged MF’s blade.

“My God it’s so fast…..*erggg*” Deacon was thrown back in his seat as the gravitational forces continued to pound on his body with no letting up. His opponent was too fast for him, not something he was used to. It was only a matter of time before he was caught.

“Why won’t you people just stop? All you do is kill others….YOU’RE NOT NEEDED HERE!!” The pilot of the unidentified MF screamed.

The sound of his voice sent shivers down Deacon’s spine causing him to panic. His fingers continued to slip off the thin throttle; he was as helpless as a baby now. Just as the MF shot towards the Shade Amanda and the other Shades began their assault. Dozens of crimson beams shot between the winged MF and Deacon.

“Appolus!!! We need to leave! Don’t forget what we’re doing!” The sound of his comrade’s voice, Jessica echoed in the cockpit of his MF, Stricken. Appolus sneered quickly shutting off the communications link.

“Why do you continue to bother me? This is what I need to do! All of them…all of the TA needs to die!” Appolus screamed.

His vengeful energy transferred into the graceful but aggressive movements of Stricken. None of the beams fired from Amanda or any of the other Shades came in contact with Stricken. Appolus continued to avoid every beam fired in his direction while making his way towards the frozen Shade.

“THIS IS THE ONLY WAY!!!!” Appolus screamed just as his massive blade began to descend towards Deacon and his Shade. Deacon’s eyes widened, sweat rolled down his face as his visor fogged up from his heavy breathing. Things became silent, if only for a brief moment, he was ready to accept his fate. If he was going to die, at least he died on the battlefield.

“NO!!!!” Amanda screamed stepping hard onto the accelerator. Her Shade erupted with even more velocity, the thrusters continued to flare at maximum efficiency and yet she still knew she would never make it to Deacon in time.

The blade flung downwards, in the distance a slight humming sound resonated and continued to get louder with every passing moment. Deacon’s eyes quivered shut waiting for his death to come but was surprised at how long it was taking. Just as the blade came near the outer edges of the Shade’s armor a metallic disc crashed into the brunt of the blade knocking it off its course. Appolus fueled with his anger and resentment towards the TA quickly looked away from Deacon and towards the distance. Everyone watched as the metallic disk flung in a curved pattern heading away from the area and back towards a flickering light.

Suddenly a massive beam of positron energy burst from the distance nearly engulfing Stricken. To Appolus’ surprise he found three MFs now hovering in front of his MF. They had used the beam of energy as a cover so they could make their way towards him barely detected.

“More TA bastards… I’ll kill you as well!!!” Appolus screamed.       

The wings lifted as Stricken flew into action, just before it could make any significant moves a crimson MF moved in its way swinging a dual energy saber causing Appolus to move away from its original trajectory.

“APPOLUS! We need to get out of here now!”

“Leave me alone! This is my fight!” Stricken once again began to attack, swinging it’s massive sword through the space region.

“This is Major Stephen Novus….identify yourself.”

Alpha engaged with Stricken, the duel energy saber continued to conflict with the single blade of Stricken. Sparks of energy fluttered violently around their position while the remaining MFs stayed back watching the fireworks unfold.

“You people…..you people are nothing but murderers!!!” Appolus screamed. The thrusters in the back of Stricken exploded with power forcing the

MF forward. Stephen began to cringe but quickly retaliated with the two cannons resting on Alpha’s shoulders. Two crimson beams of energy fired at close range causing Stricken to fall backwards. Just as the blue and yellow MF tumbled from the attack its right arm swung up quickly causing the sword to slice through the two elongated cannons on Alpha. After a small explosion Stricken vanished from sight, Stephen sighed as he slowly turned around facing his friends.

“You could have made sure he didn’t get away you know.” Stephen mumbled.

“Nah, you looked like you had the situation under control.” Mario replied.

“Still….what was that?” Heather questioned.

“Not sure….but that’s probably what took out the Adament.” Stephen paused as he glanced back at the Shades that floated behind him. “You guys alright?”

“Yeah…..thanks to you….” Deacon mumbled under his breath trying to hide his shame.

“Wow…the Crimson Knight….” Amanda replied in astonishment.

“Yeah….I’m the Crimson Knight….” Stephen muttered softly.